Invisible
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "Of course, I do," he insisted sincerely. His eyes were so earnest that I swallowed nervously. "Merlin, I've never been invisible to you; even when I was that spotty short, chubby kid in third year. I was never invisible to you so how could you think that you would ever be invisible to me?"
1. Invisible

No matter how often my parents dropped me off at the train station, my father still continued to find it difficult to let go. I was entering my sixth year and _still,_ he was finding it hard to say goodbye to his little girl and I struggled not to remind him that I was almost an adult in the eyes of the ministry. I was just a few months away from turning 17, practically an adult. Well, not really.

"How does the summer go so quickly?" he complained, reaching out to hug me again.

I squeezed my arms tight around him and returned the embrace, even as I met my mother's eyes over his shoulders. Mother rolled her eyes and I did the same but quickly wiped my features before he could see.

"I promise I'll write letters to you," I assured him, withdrawing from his embrace and reaching out to grab the handle of the luggage cart.

"We know you will," mother assured, nudging my father when he refused to say anything.

"Make sure you write every day," he said eventually, with a deep frown,

My mouth parted incredulously and I shook my head, adamantly insisting, "Every week." _If I feel like it._

My father went to protest instantly and before I could point out to him that receiving letters every day would be boring, that I would have nothing to say to him, a hand clasped my arm. The contact was so sudden that I almost jumped, whirling around to see who was standing behind me. Following the arm up and up and _up_ , my eyebrows rose suddenly as I studied the boy – man maybe – that was there, reaching out for my attention.

Fred dropped his hand from my arm, shuffling silently under my stare. When I continued to look over him in surprise, taking in the new breadth to his shoulders, the strengthening of his jawline and just how much he'd _grown_ over the summer. Forcing my eyes away from his exposed forearms, I met Fred's insistent gaze and wondered if at that moment he could read my eyes like he always claimed he could. Rowena, if he could then he'd know in an instant that his change in appearance was doing dangerous things to my heart. And here I was thinking that this year I might have actually managed to get over him.

When he arched a silent eyebrow, I cleared my throat and experimentally squeezed his arm. _Merlin, that was firm._ "What the hell have you been eating, Weasley?"

Rolling his eyes, he responded to my words with a simple shrug. Looking awat from me, Fred stepped forward to greet my parents. I listened distantly as my parents and my very best friend exchanged pleasantries and instead watched Fred from the corner of my eye. Sure, his physical appearance might have changed, but underneath it all, he was still my Fred Weasley. Beneath the inches he'd grown and the muscles he'd put on, he still had that same one dimpled smile and that habit of reaching out towards me whenever I was near. He'd confessed after James had plied him with fire whisky, that just reaching out to brush his fingertips against the back of my hand comforted him whenever he felt a little anxious. But what did he have to feel anxious about?

As the warning whistle rang, I was snapped out of my thoughts when Fred reached out to properly take my hand this time. Without a moment's hesitation, I linked my fingers through his and waved goodbye to my parents. Using my free hand to tug my trunk after me, I listened silently as Fred spoke animatedly about the pranks he and James had managed to pull on the majority of their cousins. At one point as we reached a denser crowd, Fred dropped my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his side to keep me close.

We navigated our way through the crowd and I wondered whether Fred was really so oblivious to the double takes he was getting from some of the other students. If he _did_ notice them, he certainly didn't let on.

"Spill, Haas," he declared suddenly, cutting himself off and catching me in my staring. He had to tilt his head down further now to meet my gaze but he did it anyway. "You've been silent for _far_ longer than normal. What's going on?"

"Nothing," I said nonchalantly as I cast a glance over the platform, mentally totalling the number of girls that were actively staring at Fred. Some boys too. "But seriously, what happened to you over the last summer?"

He shrugged, lifting his arm from over my shoulder to rub the back of his neck a little awkwardly. "I just grew a couple of inches and spent most of the holiday playing Quidditch with my cousins."

Eyeing the way the muscles in Fred's arm bunched as he lowered it to his side, I kept back the remark that I could see the outcome of his constant quidditch playing. Dropping the matter, I smiled gratefully at Fred when he helped me onto the train, lifting my trunk up after me. I waited for Fred to board the train and then we walked one after the other in search of an empty carriage.

Fred led the way, peering into the carriages and when we passed the one that held most of his cousins, I almost brought him up on it before remembering. He was a little selfish with our friendship, choosing to keep me to himself for almost the entire train journey to Hogwarts. Not that I could complain about that.

When he found an empty carriage, Fred pushed the door open and stepped aside to let me in first. Before I could reach for my trunk, Fred hoisted it into the overhead stroage before doing the same with his own. Shutting the carriage door and settling down on one side, I waited for Fred to sit but he didn't. He remained standing, staring down at me with hesitant eyes.

"Fred?" I called out gently, reaching out to take his hand in mine. He softened at the contact, moving to cradle my hand between both of his and not for the first time, I found myself fascinated by the difference in the size of our hands.

"Do I really look that different?" he asked so quietly that I almost missed it. But I didn't.

Raising my eyes from our hands, I met his gaze and smiled sincerely. "No. You just look like Fred to me."

* * *

As I always did upon returning back to school, I found myself falling back into my usual routine of waking far earlier than I would at home for breakfast before the school day officially began. Of course, breakfasts at Hogwarts always made the early morning worth it. And yet, just remembering that breakfast was followed by _lessons_ was enough to dampen my mood. And _then_ I remembered that, after comparing my schedule with Fred's, that we shared almost every lesson with one another.

Draining the last of my morning coffee, I rose from my feet and looked casually over the great hall as I slung my bag over my shoulder. My gaze settled on the Gryffindor table, as it usually did, in time to see Fred rise quickly from his seat, his own eyes on mine. As if he'd been waiting for my signal. Turning my eyes away from his, I headed towards the double doors and then waited for him to meet me by the door. Fred's paces were quick as he rushed away from his own table to join me with a characteristic arm around my shoulder.

"You practically ran out of there, Weasley."

"I've never felt so uncomfortable at my own table," he confessed with a sigh. "Bloody girls kept crowding around the table and talking to me about absolute rubbish."

Fred's gaze was pointed straight ahead so he had no way of seeing the way my hands were suddenly clutching the strap of my bag between white knuckles. Jealousy, no matter how well you hid it, was always an ugly thing.

"You got handsome over the summer," I said matter of factly after forcing myself to ease my grip. "It's only natural that girls notice that about you."

Fred chuckled a little, shaking his head as if he thought I was wrong. But that didn't stop him from turning curiously towards me to ask, "If I'm handsome now, what was I before?"

"I always thought you were handsome," I admitted with an easy shrug. "Not that you'd know this but you have these striking eyes and your smile kind of makes me forget about how stressed I'm feeling when –"

I cut myself off abruptly, realising that I was rambling about Fred, _to Fred._ The same Fred who was looking at me so deeply that I was terrified that he'd managed to catch on about my feelings. But thankfully Fred was notoriously oblivious, especially for a Weasley and his signature easy-going smile grew and then we were walking to class again.

"I had no idea you cared so much about me, Haas," he teased and I shrugged out of the arm around my shoulder with a scoff.

Nudging him away from me, I was silently thankful to Rowena herself that Fred continued to be oblivious to the way I felt for him. The moment Fred knew, that was the moment I wound up losing my very best friend. He wouldn't consciously try to pull away from me, but I just knew that he would overthink everything about the way he was behaving towards me, wondering whether or not he was unknowingly leading me on. That would just end up with us distancing ourselves from one another. Fred had been the first friend I'd made in Hogwarts and I couldn't stand the idea of losing him. It was just better that I kept it all to myself.

"You can't blame some girls for taking notice of you, Fred," I said, consciously putting a little more space between us. It wouldn't be the first time that someone commented on the way we walked unnecessarily close to each other. "That's all it is."

Fred turned towards me, and because I was watching him expectantly, I saw the way he looked at the space between us with a frown. He looked as if he wanted to say something about it before deciding against it. Instead, he reached out for my hand and tugged me closer towards him. I tried to resist at first only to submit with a sigh and let him lead me into the classroom.

We walked into our first Transfiguration lesson of the year and almost instantly headed towards the seats we'd occupied for the last few years. Fred ushered me in first, letting me walk through the gap between the tables and towards the fifth table on the left side.

"Fred," someone called out from behind us as I stopped in place. Fred looked up at the sound of his name, turning towards one of the Slytherin girls who gestured towards the empty seat beside her.

Averting my eyes, I chose to rifle through my bags as if I wasn't practically holding my breath in wait of the decision Fred was going to make. In some part of my mind, I _knew_ that Fred wasn't the sort of person to walk right past me to join some random Slytherin girl at her table.

"No thank you," Fred said slowly, turning away from her and making a face that clearly showed how odd he found the interaction. "I'll take my usual seat."

Planting his hands on my shoulders, Fred steered me down the room and towards our usual table. His hands rubbed some tension away from the base of my neck and if he noticed my silence, then he said nothing about it. Instead, he spoke to fill the unusual silence about the mischief that he and James were planning on getting into over the course of the school year.

Rowena, jealousy was an ugly thing. But it was something that I needed to get used to.

* * *

When you had been best friends with someone for as long as I had been with Fred, you tended to pick up on even their smallest of mannerisms. Maybe that was why I had always been able to tell when there was something up with the unusually silent boy who walked by my side. He was walking me to my next lesson, something Fred always did, and yet his mind seemed so far away. Fred usually carried himself with casual strides, hands tucked into his pockets or reaching out to touch me as he spoke. He rarely fidgeted with the end of his tie or the edge of his sleeve or even mumbled a little under his breath.

"Fred," I called out and when he didn't respond right away, I reached out to put a hand on his arm. The contact pulled him out of his thoughts and he instantly looked down at me with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I wasn't saying anything." Frowning a little, I shifted my bag on my shoulder and swatted his hand away when he reached out to take it from me. "What's bothering you, Weasley? You're never so quiet. Hell, I was even considering taking you to the hospital wing because you might have been ill or something."

"It's nothing important." I raised an unimpressed eyebrow and he was quick to give up his pretence. "It's just that tryouts are soon."

"Quidditch?" I checked and when he nodded, I turned curiously into him.

He nodded as if his interest was throwaway. But, obviously, if he really had no interest in it all, then he wouldn't be fixating on it so much.

"The beater position's been filled for the past few years," he explained with a shrug. "That's the position I always play at home and it's empty now. For the first time since we started school I can actually try out for it, but what if I wind up being rejected? I mean that would just be a waste of –"

He cut himself off when I fisted the fabric of his sleeve and tugged on it. Quietening down quickly, he rolled his lower lip into his mouth as he waited to see just what it was that I had to say to him. I averted my eyes before I wound up focusing on the lip trapped under his teeth. Clearing my throat, I released his sleeve and started to walk again, leaving Fred to catch up to me.

"Try out for the team," I said abruptly. My statement was met with undue hesitation and I rationalised, "There's no point worrying about a rejection that you've yet to receive. Aren't your tryouts in a few weeks?"

"They are; what'll you do if I end up on the team?"

"Support you obviously," I said with a look that told him just how stupid he sounded.

"Even when I play against the Ravenclaw team?"

"They'll have to brand me a traitor then." With a grin, I linked my arm through his and stared up into his face. Fred tried not to smile but soon gave up, meeting my eyes with his own dimpled grin. "I'll turn up in Gryffindor colours if you want. I might even make a banner with your name on and wave it from the Ravenclaw stands."

"You'll end up kicked out of your house," he warned.

"That's true. But you'll take me in, right?"

"I'll give up my bed for you," he said with a laugh and reached out to pinch my cheek. I winced as he continued to pull at me, teasing, "Depending on how pretty the banner is, I might even _share_ the bed with you."

"You're full of shit, Fred Weasley," I said, the words coming out distorted as he refused to let go.

Slapping at his hand, I rubbed my sore cheek with my palm when he _finally_ released me. Opening my mouth wide and closing it to ease the ache, I grabbed Fred's arm and raised his watch so I could read the time. My eyes widened slightly as I looked up at Fred.

"You'd better get going now, Fred. Herbology is on the other side of the castle and you won't make it on time if you don't leave now."

"I'm tempted to skip," he admitted as we walked past the library doors. Fred wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side as he tried to persuade me. "We'll be able to spend more time together that way."

"Sweet talking me won't work. I know you're using me as an excuse to skip lessons."

"Oh babe," he started mischievously and I sighed, planning on drawing away from him. "Don't be like that; you _know_ how much you mean to me."

"You're so annoying," I muttered under my breath, slapping at his arm.

A call of Fred's name had me catching myself halfway through the motion. We both turned towards the unexpected voice which, we soon found out, belonged to one of his housemates. The girl, pretty in a way I definitely wasn't, smiled warmly at the pair of us as she hurried towards us. Reluctantly I stopped in my steps and Fred did the same.

"It's almost time for Herbology, Fred," she explained with a small smile once we were done exchanging pleasantries. "We should get to clas or else we'll be late."

"You can go ahead," Fred began but I was already drawing away from him as an unsettling weight decided to find a home in my stomach. He cut himself off, looking to me for a moment.

"My class is just around the corner, Fred. You should get to class before you end up in detention again; I'll meet you by your common room?"

Fred seemed to silently disagree, wanting to say something else to me. But I couldn't meet his eyes, not wanting to give away just how hard it was for me to continue on my way to class and leave him with his housemate who I just _knew_ liked him. She looked at him the way I did. I could only hope that it wasn't based solely on the changes to his exterior.

* * *

I was starving; somehow, I had managed to oversleep in the morning and completely missed breakfast. I'd had to rush to my first lesson of the day and spent the majority of my morning lessons praying that my stomach didn't rumble. But of course, it did. And, as if that wasn't embarrassing enough _everyone_ that was sitting around me, even though they knew what it was, still turned in their seats to stare at me. So really, it was no surprise that I practically ran into the Great Hall when it was time for lunch.

Evelyn struggled to match my pace, laughing as I dodged in between a group of oncoming Gryffindors. Reluctantly I dropped back a few paces and let her catch up with me. Appearing at my side, she linked her arm through mine and we walked, at a much more composed pace, towards the Ravenclaw table as she grumbled under her breath about the boys in our house.

Even though we made an immediate beeline for our table my eyes, as they always did, went to the Gryffindor table and sought out Fred. I found him sitting beside James like he usually did and there was nothing out of the ordinary about the picture that greeted me; the two cousins were busy entertaining a group of girls. Of course, it was more often James that found himself the focus of their attention as they tried to sway James from the object of his affection by trying to remind him that other girls did in fact exist. They always failed. But, now, it shouldn't have surprised me that an equal number of girls were trying to talk to Fred who, even from afar, looked aloof.

Under my eyes, Fred's gaze skimmed the Great Hall until it finally settled on me. Instantly his face became much clearly more animated as he raised a hand over his head and waved enthusiastically. The innocent smile on his face was enough to have me stopping in my steps to return the smile. Fred practically rose from his feet to gesture for me to cross the hall to greet him. But I held myself back and silently gestured towards Evelyn.

Before Fred could protest, I turned all of my attention back to Evie who was busy watching our interaction with scrutiny. She opened her mouth as if to comment and I quickly took her by the arm to hurry her away to our table. I hoped to drag her towards the most populated part in hopes of warding off her nosiness. But she saw right through it and promptly escorted me towards the end of the table where no one else was seated.

"Alright," she began as I sat across from her, evading her eyes as I helped myself to a large portion of lasagne, "no beating around the bush here, Haas; tell me. What's going on?"

I hesitated, stabbing my lasagne with my fork and worrying my bottom lip. When she sighed, I lifted my gaze to hers and knew in that instant that if there was one person – apart from Fred – that I could confide in, it would be her.

"It's so stupid," I admitted quietly, setting my fork down and fiddling with my fingers.

"If something is bothering you enough to have you cutting _Fred Weasley_ out of your life, then it's hardly stupid," she pointed out, spearing a broccoli head and lifting it to her mouth.

"I'm jealous Evie. I'm jealous of how many girls are noticing Fred. Merlin, it's so _annoying_ because if he hadn't bulked up a little bit then no doubt they still wouldn't be paying him any attention; they'd still look over him for James. None of those girls care about the person he's always been, just that he looks more handsome now. I shouldn't be jealous and it's so _stupid_."

"No, it isn't. Why is it stupid?"

"Because I have no right to be jealous. I'm his _friend_." Picking up my fork, I set about dismantling the layers of my lasagne which had Evie, with her Italian heritage, making a sound of protest. "Being Fred's friend means that I should be happy for him, regardless of what reason girls are looking at him now. And if he ends up dating someone, even if I'm hurt, I should always be happy for him because that would mean that _he's_ happy."

"You know," Evie said when I looked to her for advice, "if you were willing to actually talk to Fred about the way you're feeling, this would all be over sooner. He's probably left wondering just what he's done to deserve being cut out of your life; talk to him, Haas."

"I'm not going to talk to him," I said adamantly. "He doesn't need to know about this."

"And what makes you think that he doesn't already know?"

"Well if he does know about the way I'm feeling about him, and he hasn't done anything about it, doesn't that tell me everything I need to know?"

" _Come on –_ "

"We're friends. He's my very best friend and I refuse to risk it all because of some silly crush."

"A silly crush that you've harboured for _years_."

* * *

Skipping breakfast just once had ruined my day so completely that I vowed to never do it again. I had even enlisted Evie to make sure that I always woke up at the right time and once I had given her permission to douse me with water if I resisted, she was all too eager to help me. Whilst I might have hated her a little every morning, the moment I took my first bite of breakfast that hatred quickly fled.

Today was no different; it was one of the few days in which I had resisted her first call to wake up. She'd given me another warning before promptly casting an _auguamenti_ on me and soaking me to my underwear. After preparing and dressing for the day, I continued to grumble to Evie about just how _happy_ she was at putting me in such a horrendous mood. She didn't let my complaints get to her and instead plated a ridiculously large portion of eggs onto my plate after telling me to just start eating.

I made it two spoonful's into my breakfast before I was smiling again. Evelyn, already used to my mood swings, just laughed and launched into a conversation about something that had happened in the common room whilst I'd been doing my rounds. Apparently one of the second-year couples had gotten into a lover's spat because the boyfriend had _cheated_ on the girlfriend by helping another girl carry her bags. Honestly, what were second years doing being in a relationship in the first place?

Evelyn cut herself off abruptly, stopping herself from recounting the end of the story where apparently the girl had tossed a curse at her boyfriend. When I looked curiously towards her, and tried to ask her what the curse had been, she silently gestured for me to turn around. With a frown, I glanced over my shoulder only to pause halfway through munching on a slice of French toast when my raised eyes met Fred's.

My eyes drank him in greedily, almost stopping on the Quidditch uniform that he was dressed in. I hadn't even known that he'd made the team. But I forced my eyes to carry on back towards his; I hadn't seen him properly in almost a week. Merlin, it had been pure hell trying to force myself to lower the number of times I saw him.

"Have you been avoiding me, Haas?" he asked abruptly, crossing his arms over his chest and Rowena, it was difficult not to ogle the way his muscles bunched under those uniform sleeves.

"We sit together in most of the classes we share," I reminded him after forcefully swallowing my mouthful. "Fred, we saw each other almost as often as we normally do."

"You certainly haven't been talking to me the way you normally do," he threw back and gestured towards the empty seat beside me.

Shuffling down the bench so he could sit comfortably, I sent a silent distress call towards Evie who was watching me with wide eyes. Shaking her head at my request, she looked to her own plate as if to give us some privacy. Really, both Fred and I knew that she would be listening in the entire time.

Fred cleared his throat when I continued to watch Evelyn. Turning in my seat towards him, I watched as Fred turned his entire body towards me with a leg on either side of the bench. When he said nothing, I poured myself a mug of tea.

"You've been avoiding me," he accused again and I slowly stirred some milk into my mug.

"How can I avoid you when I've been sitting next to you each lesson?" I asked again, raising my eyes incredulously towards his when he moved my tea away so that I had no choice but to meet his eyes.

"Even still," he said with a sigh. "There's something wrong. What is it? You're not being your normal self around me and if that's because of something I did, I'd like to know so that I can change."

I stared at him for a long moment as I wondered how to tell him that it wasn't anything he'd done. Really it wasn't really anything that anyone had done. It was just that whenever I saw him with one of _those_ girls, I became so irrationally jealous and I hated it. I hated the way that jealousy made me feel about myself and I certainly didn't like the way it was affecting my relationship with Fred. But that was my issue and it was something I needed to get over for myself.

When it became obvious that I had no answer, Fred sighed. Instead of pressuring me on it, he reached out to take both of my hands in his and waited patiently for me to raise my eyes to his. Except I couldn't bring myself to lift my eyes from my hands which were completely enclosed between both of his.

He ducked his head to meet my lowered eyes and spoke gently, "My first Quidditch match is today. You promised you'd support me, remember?" At my nod, he smiled before asking, "You'll be there for me, right?"

"Of course, I will," I said without a moment's hesitation and made myself smile to ease the tension that had settled into his shoulders.

"Good," he said after a moment, nodding and when I went to draw my hand away from his he held on tight.

My eyes flickered up towards his and he held my gaze steadily. His name was on the tip of my tongue and I went to call him when he surged towards me suddenly, lowering his head even further so that he could kiss me. My lips parted with an incredulous breath and even as my mind screamed out for me to return the kiss _damnit_ , I remained frozen. Was this really happening? Or was this some figment of my desires that had bled over into my waking day?

Fred drew away just moments later even as I continued to find myself lost in my thoughts. He straightened up completely in his seat, holding my eyes and refusing to let my hands go until he absolutely had to. I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth, watching as he drew in a deep breath as if he couldn't hear the whispers that were already beginning to circle around the table.

"For luck," he murmured before finally releasing my hands and rising to his feet. My eyes followed Fred as he headed back to his table, acting completely oblivious to the gossip following after him.

* * *

The Quidditch match, one where I was unusually silent, was extremely tense. I had severely underestimated just how _terrified_ I would be to see bludgers flinging towards Fred with the sole intention of knocking him off his broom. Prior to watching the match, I'd never actually witnessed Fred playing Quidditch and Merlin he was good at it. It was like he was born to play the part of the beater which apparently his father had done whilst he was at school as well. No matter how good I knew he was at knocking the bludgers away before they hit him, I still sucked in a deep breath each and every time that one hurtled towards him.

The moment one of the seekers caught the snitch, I let out a relieved breath and eased the grip that I'd taken on Evie's arm. I remained seated, watching from the stands as the Gryffindor team celebrated their win. Potter was busy congratulating and thanking the new members of the team and I couldn't help but smile when he hugged his cousin the longest. Fred, standing a head or so taller than his cousin, playfully punched him on the arm.

"We should get going," Evie said from beside me, as the crowd of people began to push on their way out of the stands.

Reluctantly rising to my feet, I followed Evie out onto the pitch as the crowds either went towards the teams or back to the castle. Both Evie and I had an essay we needed to finish together, and I felt like my feet were weighted down as each step seemed to take forever. But suddenly, Fred was there and taking my hand out of Evie's. We both turned curiously towards the Gryffindor in surprise.

"Can I borrow her?" he asked and without waiting for an answer, he was already pulling me away from Evie and towards one of the lesser occupied parts of the pitch. I didn't protest, walking silently beside him until he stopped and released my hand. Crossing my arms defensively over my chest, I remained silent until he accused, "You were planning on sneaking away without seeing me."

"I was just thinking about the essay I needed to finish," I said quietly, knowing he could see right through my bluff. "Besides, I thought you were probably too busy talking to the team to want to see me right now."

"Bull shit." My teeth clamped down on my bottom lip. "Tell me the truth about what's been going on recently." When my silence continued to greet him, he decided to change tact. Lowering his voice, Fred tried to tease, "Is it because it's too embarrassing for you to tell me?"

Releasing my bottom lip, I raised my eyes to his then. Fred caught himself abruptly, eyebrows rising as he watched me again.

"Really?" he asked incredulously. "That's it? It's _embarrassing_? Nothing you say to me will make me think any differently of you. You _must_ know that."

"I don't know anything anymore," I denied with a slight shake of my head. "I just, recently I hate the way I feel whenever I'm around you."

"Wait, wait a minute," he cut in quickly, reaching out to clasp my hand in his.

I carried on quickly before he could think anything else and I hurriedly explained, " I'm not an insecure girl, Fred, you know that. I don't _do_ self-consciousness or – or _jealousy._ But I can't help it because of the way that everyone is looking at you now. The way that girls who never paid attention to you before are and –"

He cut me off with a scoff, silencing me in one go. Raising my eyes to his, I watched as he took a step closer towards me and reached out to frame my face in his. Tilting my face upwards, he made sure to hold my gaze as he began to speak quietly, "That is so ridiculous."

"Fred –"

"With you by my side, how could I _possibly_ ever notice anyone else? How could I ever _want_ anyone else?"

"You mean that?" I asked quietly, reaching out to fist his Quidditch jersey in my hands.

"Of course, I do," he insisted sincerely. His eyes were so earnest that I swallowed nervously. "Merlin, I've never been invisible to you; even when I was that spotty short, chubby kid in third year. I was never invisible to you so how could you think that you would ever be invisible to me?"

And before I could hope to say anything, to justify the anxiety that I'd felt over the last few weeks, he was kissing me again. This time there was no freezing or internal confusion, I rose onto my toes and returned the kiss. Even when his team started to whoop and jeer from behind us, I made no move to pull away from him. Fred certainly had no qualms about that, if anything he pulled me even closer towards him.


	2. Epilogue: 4 Years Later

_4 YEARS LATER_

My brother was always reluctant to let me babysit his daughters, not because I was a _bad_ aunt, but because they always left my home loving me more than they loved their own father. He'd always claimed that it took him over a week and a half to win back their affection and that they would always cling to their father's legs to ask him to drop them off at my house again. Not that I would ever have any complaints about it, spending time with my nieces always made my day.

Today was one of those days where my brother had no choice but to drop my nieces off. My sister-in-law had suddenly gone into labour with their third child and just like that my nieces were bundled off and sent to mine. All the plans that I had for the day were scrapped, leaving a rather disgruntled Fred behind as I took the entire day to loo after my favourite girls.

For over two hours now, I had been playing with them when there was a knock on the door. Believing it to be the pizza that I had ordered a short while ago, I assured my nieces that I would be back soon and grabbed my purse. Rushing towards the door, I unzipped the purse and opened the door only to falter at the sight of the man on the other side.

"Fred?" I called out incredulously, fumbling to zip up my purse again as I stepped aside and let my boyfriend into my house. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

"It's date night," he explained as he stepped into the house and kicked off his shoes.

"But I cancelled, remember," I said as he followed me into the front room, his eyes instantly drawn to my nieces who were busy playing with the dolls that I'd bought them the last time they had visited me. "I told you that I needed to babysit my nieces for the day, maybe even tomorrow too."

"Well that doesn't mean that I can't see you," he protested as he walked past me to join my nieces on my carpet.

"You're just getting yourself into trouble," I warned.

"Oh please," he scoffed, crossing his legs beneath him as he settled between both of my nieces. "Kids love me."

"If you're sure," I murmured dubiously as I walked across the room to sit on the sofa.

From my perch, I watched as Fred took over for a while and began to play princess tea party with my nieces. Folding my arms, I leaned back against the back of the sofa and watched with an awestruck smile as Fred was busy pretending that a dragon was busy terrorising the neighbouring town and that the kingdom needed advice on what to do about the situation.

I knew that Fred had younger cousins, that some of his cousins had begun to have kids that he spent a lot of time around, but it was my first time seeing it in person. Children certainly took well to him and I definitely could see why he claimed that being good with kids was in his blood.

There was another knock on the door and I _knew_ that it was finally the pizza. Just as well considering how scary my nieces could become when they were hungry. Fred looked curiously towards me and when I told him that it was probably the pizza, he jumped to his feet to grab it and didn't seem to care that there was a plastic pink crown perching on the top of his head.

"Come on girls," I said watching him with a fond smile before kneeling down beside my nieces. "We'd better tidy up for now. We can play again later but let's get some food into your stomach before you turn into little monsters."

They giggled when I reached out to tickle their stomachs but hurried to tidy up when they spied Fred as he returned with the pizza boxes in his hands. They tidied things away quickly before scrambling to their feet to join Fred where he was putting some plates on the table. After serving the girls some pizza, I grinned up at Fred when he reached around me to help himself to a slice of pizza. I did the same, going to grab a slice for myself when Fred linked his fingers through one of the belt loops of my jeans.

He tugged me backwards, pulling me towards the kitchen and out of sight of the children. We were hidden behind a wall and I looked expectantly up at him when he grinned down at me.

"I told you kids loved me," he said smugly, wrapping an arm around my waist and drawing me into his chest.

"Maybe too much," I said with a quick glance at my nieces who were still eating. "It's bad enough that they bug their father to let them see me, who knows just how much they'll bother him to see you."

"Well," he ducked down to press a kiss to my forehead, "I guess I'll just have to stick to your side. Godric, I might even give you my surname to make things easier."

"Was that –" My eyes flickered between his own, uncertain. "Was that a proposal?"

"If it was?" he asked, suddenly much quieter.

"Then it's a horrendous proposal," I said quietly, clearing my throat.

"Well, it was very real" he snagged my slice of pizza from me as he walked back to join my nieces. From over his shoulder, he assured me, "It's the only one you're getting from me."

"Fred –"

"You don't have to answer me now," he said gently, eyes lingering on mine. "Just, think about it."


End file.
